


I Just Wanna Know What's on Your Mind

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cisco is reacting to Barry's new hair, Crushes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Slash, Slash, flashvibe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 14:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"It's not the hair on your head that matters. It's the kind of hair you have inside."--Garry Shandling</i>
</p><p> </p><p>flashsvibe said:<br/>ok but i need flashvibe fic where cisco reacts to barry’s new haircut<br/>#cisco would literally just '??????????????? bar when did u get a haircut' #and barry's just 'uhhhh just today actually i-'  #'how is it possible that you get hotter??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' #'what???????' #'.......what'</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Just Wanna Know What's on Your Mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coopbastian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coopbastian/gifts).



> written for flashsvibe/coopbastian who wanted a fic about cisco reacting to barry's new hair. 
> 
> in case you missed it, please check out grant's new haircut, [check it out here](http://dailygrantgustin.com/post/143137507601/switched-it-up-a-bit-krystal), give in to the hotness, revel in the sex appeal. this fic is basically me channeling all my feelings about grant's new hair into cisco.
> 
> title taken from the 21p lyric, _"i don't care what's in your hair, i just wanna know what's on your mind.'_
> 
> not beta'd. hope you like it!

Cisco’s day is going perfectly fine.

Okay, so, maybe this doesn’t make his day any worse, he’ll admit. How can Barry Allen ever, really, make his day—or anyone else’s for that matter—worse? Barry Allen is a ray of sunshine, an overabundance of dimples and grins and puppy-dog sweetness. Barry Allen, extenuating circumstances like doom and destruction aside, is a certifiable cure to sadness; it’s just how life is.

So, no, Barry Allen appearing in the cortex after a few days out of town with a ridiculous gust of wind definitely doesn’t make Cisco’s day _worse_.

But, it doesn’t really make his day any better, either.

Mostly it makes Cisco confused, startled, sort of twisted up inside. It makes his head a little foggy, and makes his heart skip a beat, and sets off a fleet of butterflies in his gut that feel as though they won’t ever end. It makes Cisco a little short of breath and makes his face burn with a blush and—

See? Definitely not making his day _better_.

Really, though, how is Cisco supposed to react? He hasn’t seen Barry in what feels like forever, even if it’s only been a few days. He’s barely heard from Barry in those few days, and even when he had gotten a text or a quick call, it hadn’t been enough. Cisco has missed his best friend-slash-crush and isn’t ashamed to admit that.

Plus, to top it all off Barry is sporting a ridiculous new haircut. And by ridiculous, Cisco definitely means ridiculously hot, perfect, amazing, attractive, and sexy. All of the above, definitely.

“Uh, Cisco?” Barry’s voice cuts across Cisco’s daze.

Cisco wants to reply, play it cool and hear all about Barry’s trip to Star City but all he does is open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. He raises his hand and makes an aborted gesture at said haircut, but Barry clearly doesn’t understand. Cisco gapes for a little while longer, taking in the shaved sides and the artfully sharp way the rest of his hair is spiked.

“Cisco?” Barry asks again, half-laughing. Even Caitlin is snickering a little bit now, and Cisco has a brief moment to be thankful it’s just the three of them in the room. No one else needs to see bear witness to his humiliation.

“Bar,” Cisco starts slowly, considering his words before he speaks and drawing out the nickname to buy some time. “When did you get your haircut?”

It’s not just how _good_ it looks that’s throwing Cisco off kilter—how different it is plays a large part, too. In the going on three years that Cisco has known Barry, he’s never seen a haircut like this on his friend. He’s never seen anything except the well maintained, expertly gelled private-school-prep-boy look. And that’s never been a bad thing, that sort of haircut has always worked for Barry. This—this works even better, though.

Barry laughs again. “Oh, yeah, just today actually. Right before I left. Oliver said I was looking kind of shaggy and insisted I had to go to this one lady he sees…” Barry keeps rambling and the story eventually turns from his haircut to some of his other adventures in Star City. Cisco tunes out after a few moments.

Barry keeps talking, Caitlin listening with rapt attention, and Cisco keeps staring.

There’s something edgy about the haircut, which sounds ridiculous in Cisco’s head but is really the only way to describe it. Where Barry’s old style was softer, short but not this short, and screamed Nice Boy Next Door, this new look is basically the opposite. It’s hot, and makes Barry look older in the best sort of way. He looks like the Nice Boy Next Door, still, but in a way that’s a lot _naughtier_.

Distantly, through the haze attraction overwhelming him, Cisco hears Caitlin mention something about a lunch date with Iris and Linda. She makes another brief moment of small talk with Barry before her heels clicking against the ground carry her out of the cortex.

Silence falls over him and Barry and Cisco appreciates that it’s not an awkward or tense silence. He and Barry are best friends, and not even Cisco’s simmering crush disrupts that. They sit in easy quiet in the cortex; Barry busies himself with getting up to date on everything that’s happened in Central City since he’s been gone, and Cisco carries on in his staring.

Barry looks up after who knows how long has passed, and grins at Cisco. His eyes crinkle at the edges and his face just glows. The haircut may be sharper and less full of boyish charm than it used to be, but Barry’s smile is the same.

“How is it possible that you got even hotter?” Cisco asks, incredulous, waving his hands in disbelief at Barry’s hair for a split second. He freezes once the words are hanging between them.

Barry’s grin falters and while he doesn’t look pissed, the confusion is definitely a turn for the worse compared to his expression before.

“What?” Barry asks. It comes out in a rush, and if Cisco had to guess he’d say there’s an edge of surprised laughter clinging to the question.

“What.” Cisco retorts with a flat voice and a sheepish grin in place. He sinks deeper in his seat and half hides behind his hands. He breaks the intense stare Barry is giving him and turns the chair away. Cisco rolls closer to the desk and pretends to be super interested in something on one of the computer screens. He gets unnecessarily close to the screen and focuses entirely on the words flickering across the display rather than Barry.

As much as he likes pretending to ignore Barry, there’s no ignore the crackle of lightning as Barry super speeds across the room right into Cisco’s personal space. Cisco doesn’t pull back from the computer screen but he feels hyperaware of Barry’s hovering presence.

“Cisco,” Barry speaks slowly as he leans against the edge of the desk.  

“Barry,” Cisco mimics his tone and doesn’t look at him, resolutely doesn’t look at that stupidly amazing haircut again. He’s not sure he could stop staring if he lets himself look again.

“Cisco, look at me.”

He stiffens, relents just enough to ease the strain on his eyes. He leans back from the computer screen but doesn’t look away from the soft light.

“Cisco.” Barry’s voice hardens, partly exasperated and partly fond.

Before Cisco can respond, or flee, Barry grips the back of the chair and turns Cisco to face him.

“You think I’m hot?” Barry asks; his grin is bordering on a smirk, and it complements the haircut almost too nicely. Cisco’s only comfort is the light blush staining the apple of Barry’s cheeks.

Cisco rolls his eyes. “Dude, you _know_ you’re a fine piece of work, you don’t need me to tell you that.” Cisco wills his own blush to fade. He tries to put more confidence into his words than he really feels.

Barry sinks to his knees, hands moving to curl around the arms of the chair. Where he normally almost towers over Cisco, this position has them closer to eye-level with one another. If anything, Barry ends up being a touch shorter.

“What if I _want_ you to tell me that?” Barry’s blush spreads across his face but his smile doesn’t dissipate.

Cisco’s gaze—which had been wandering a little aimlessly, tracing the lines of Barry’s haircut—snap to meet his hazel eyes.

“Dude, don’t mess with me,” Cisco tries to laugh but it comes out as more of a breathless huff. He resists the urge to hide his face in his hands again and barely tamps down the need to try and flee. “Yes, okay, I have a ridiculous crush on you, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stroke your ego all the time.” There’s no real heat to Cisco’s claim, though. Not only because Barry doesn’t need his ego stroked, but also because Cisco wouldn’t really mind doing it.

Barry’s somewhat cocky expression gives way into more confusion, just like before. “What? No, Cisco, that’s not what I’m saying.”

Cisco tries to ignore the way his heart skips a beat. He’s not going to get his hopes up. Nope.

“What, are you gonna tell me you have a ridiculous crush on me, too?” Cisco asks. He’s aiming to make a joke but the waver in his voice gives him away.

“Well, depends,” Barry shuffles closer until his face is only few inches from Cisco’s.

“Depends on?” Cisco pries, and okay, maybe he’s giving in and getting his hopes up.

“What you consider ridiculous,” Barry retorts, matter-of-fact.

Cisco can’t help but smile. “Well, your thing for Iris is the current record holder, I think, but my personal ‘ridiculous’ is just over two years.” He feels vulnerable, admitting this, but he doesn’t feel like he’s setting himself up for rejection. This isn’t like any of his dates before, isn’t the same feeling as trying to pick up Kendra at Jitters, not like any of the people he’s hit on at bars. There’s no lingering fear of being turned down and there’s almost no uncertainty. Cisco feels confident, he feels sure.

Barry hums. “Looks like you got me a little beat. But only by, like, a month.” He raises a hand and tucks a few locks of Hair behind Cisco’s ear. “I’m going to kiss you now. I’m kind of tired of waiting.”

Cisco nods, “same, dude, same.” He laughs and brings his hands to cup Barry’s face.

When their lips are barely a hairsbreadth apart, Barry stops.

“If I had known it would take a haircut to get you to kiss me, I would’ve done it forever ago.”

Cisco rolls his eyes and slides his fingers into Barry’s hair, mussing up the strands and tangling his grip in the soft strands. “I would’ve kissed you for less, but the haircut is a nice touch.”

Barry opens his mouth again to retort, but Cisco is _really_ sick of waiting. He lurches forward and closes the remaining distance between them, pressing his lips to Barry’s. The kiss starts chaste, dry and soft, until Cisco uses his grip in Barry’s hair to tilt for a better angle. Their mouths open together and Cisco groans as the kiss deepens and strokes his thumbs along the freshly shaved sides of Barry’s head.

They pull back once their lungs are burning and both their faces are brighter pink than before.

Cisco grins and doesn’t care how dopey he probably looks. His chest feels warm and full, as though his heart is going a mile a minute in the best way imaginable. The butterflies in his gut don’t settle, but they don’t make him sick with nerves, only excited. He runs a hand through the spikes of Barry’s hair just to watch it mess under his touch.

Barry laughs and kisses him softly again.  


End file.
